Apparatus for treating small parts, such as sliders for sliding fasteners

ABSTRACT

Apparatus for applying paint on metal parts, and especially sliders for sliding fasteners. The apparatus comprises a container for the metal parts which is rotated by driving means inside an enclosure. Two covers are adaptable in succession on the enclosure. One cover has paint-spraying means and the other heating means for baking the paint sprayed onto the sliders. The enclosure comprises heating means.

United States Patent inventor Guy Serge Pierre Lacam Paris, France Appl. No. 834,786

Filed June 19, 1969 Patented Aug. 24, 197 l Assignee La Fenneture Ailee Ainines, France Priority Aug. 30, 1968 France 164,664

APPARATUS FOR TREATING SMALL PARTS, SUCH AS SLIDERS FOR SLIDING FASTENERS 7 Claims, 2 Drawing Figs.

US. Cl 118/64, 68/20, 68/58, 1 18/20, 118/303 Int. Cl. B05c 5/00 FieldotSearch 118/19, 20,

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,141,792 7/1964 Lachman etal. 118/19X 3,167,453 l/1965 Cretors 118/19 3,302,608 2/1967 Coons et a1. 118/19 3,357,398 12/1967 Gross 118/20 X 3,448,718 6/1969 Green et a1. 118/19X Primary Examiner-John P. Mclntosh Attorney-Burns, Doane, Swecker & Mathis ABSTRACT: Apparatus for applying paint on metal parts, and especially sliders for sliding fasteners. The apparatus comprises a container for the metal parts which is rotated by driving means inside an enclosure. Two covers are adaptable in succession on the enclosure. One cover has paint-spraying means and the other heating means for baking the paint sprayed onto the sliders. The enclosure comprises heating means.

Patented Aug. 24, 1971 APPARATUS FOR TREATING SMALL PARTS, SUCH AS SLIDERS FOR SLIDING FASTENERS The present invention relates to an apparatus for treating small parts and in particular for lacquering or applying paint to sliders for, for example, sliding fasteners, buttons, press buttons, eyelets or small chains.

The operation for applying paint to sliders and other small articles presents serious handling and therefore labor problems owing to the difficulties of so disposing the parts that the paint be distributed as evenly as possible.

The application of paint to parts in a heap has the serious drawback that the parts stick together.

The manual or automatic arrangement of the parts on a plate or other moving or fixed device does not allow a complete painting owing to the contact of surfaces of the parts with their support.

A current practice comprises fixing the sliders one by one on sheet metal sectioned elements so as to constitute strips, spraying them with a'spray gun under delicate hygienic conditions, taking care to pivot the pulling members of the sliders so that they receive a layer of paint on both sides, and then subjecting them to a baking in an oven or in a furnace having a rolling conveyor or similar device.

Apart from the fact that the operation takes a long time and requires much handling, such a practice does not guarantee a perfect application of paint.

Electrostatic methods have also been employed for painting sliders in an automatic manner. The results have hardly shown themselves to be satisfactory owing to the cost of the installations and the limited progress achieved relative to manual operations.

It has also been proposed to paint the parts assembled in a heap in a rotating container by the projection of a cloud by means of a gun, but it was necessary to give the parts a special shape in order to preclude their sticking together.

In the case of sliders for sliding fasteners, the inner faces of the sliders must be radiused or provided with a bar and the pulling members must be very movable about their axis and have a particular curvature so as to avoid their hooking together.

To prevent the sticking together of the parts, which could occur rather rapidly, the parts are provided with only a thin coat of paint and are laid out on plates so as to be subjected to a polymerization by baking in suitable furnaces, they are then put back in a rotating container so as to apply thereto a second coat of paint and so on, the operations being if necessary repeated up to six or eight times.

These handlings have the drawback of being long, costly and also delicate, since the danger of adhesion of the parts de pends on the very accurate control of the lacquering or paint application times.

The object of the invention is to provide an apparatus for treating small parts, and in particular for applying paint to sliders for sliding fasteners and other small metal parts, which avoids the various aforementioned drawbacks and ensures a practically automatic irreproachable treatment with no need for a special shape for the parts or the presence of bars or similar means.

The invention provides an apparatus comprising a support, a container for containing the parts to be treated and which is rotatably mounted in an enclosure or outer container carried by the support and at least two covers successively adaptable on said enclosure, each of said covers being equipped with means for carrying out a special operation of the treatment of the parts contained in said rotary container.

With this apparatus, it is possible to carry out a plurality of successive heating operations with no handling or transfer of the treated parts.

Preferably, a device for automatically controlling the duration of the successive treating operations is provided.

As the apparatus is intended for thelacquering of or application of paint to sliders for sliding fasteners or other small metal parts, there is provided a cover equipped with an apparatus for spraying paint into the rotary container and a cover equipped with heating means for baking the coat of paint deposited, the rotary container being provided with means for stirring the parts whereas the outer container is equipped with heating means.

Further features and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the ensuing description with reference to the accompanying drawing.

In the drawing:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an apparatus for lacquering or applying paint to sliders for sliding fasteners or other small parts, and

FIG. 2 is a partial diagrammatic sectional view of this apparatus.

In the embodiment shown in the drawings, the apparatus according to the invention for lacquering or applying paint to a batch of sliders for sliding fasteners and other small metal parts, mainly comprises a support 1 comprising a frame having two uprights 2, a cylindrical container or enclosure 3 mounted in the support and framed by the uprights, a cylindrical container 4 rotatably and detachably mounted in the container 3 and two covers 5 and 6 pivoted to the uprights 2 on each side of the containers and adapted to be applied onto the container 3.

The two containers 3, 4 are disposed at a suitable inclination relative to the ground and in such manner that the assembly is pivotable to the position shown in dot-dash line (FIG. 2), so as to withdraw the parts at the end of the treatment. An actuating lever 7 is provided for this purpose.

The outer container 3 is equipped in its lower part with heating resistances 8 contained in a case 9 so that hot air flows between this container and the inner rotatable container 4.

The inner container 4 is mounted on a shaft 10 which is rotatably mounted in bearings 11 supported by the support 1 and driven by a motor 12 through a transmission 13.

The rotary container 4 is rendered integral with the shaft 10 through a taper fit in a cup 14 formed by the shaft, the container 4 being secured by a screw 15 so that it can be easily and rapidly removed.

The interior of the container 4, containing the parts to be treated P comprises a plurality of fins or blades 16 which stir these parts. These fins vary in number and have a shape adapted for the purpose. They can have for example a helical profile or curved edges or different geometric shapes. The

cover 5 is equipped with means for spraying paint into the rotary container 4. These means comprise a spray gun l7 and a paint tank 18 of conventional type. The gun operates by compressed air and is engaged in a circular opening 19 in the cover 5, suitable connections being provided leading to the support for supplying air to this gun.

The cover 6 is equipped with spiral heating resistances 20 adapted to heat the inside of the rotary container 4.

Each cover 5, 6 is pivoted to the corresponding upright 2 of the support by a pivot pin 21 and has a shifting handle 22.

A duct or sleeve 23 is provided for discharging the vapors given off when baking the paints employed and is connected if desired to a suction hood (not shown in the drawing).

The support carries a control panel 24 connected to the paint applying and heating devices of the apparatus for the purpose of automatically controlling the treating times so that it is sufficient to open or close the covers in response to light or bell signals emitted by this panel.

In the course of operation a thin coating of paint is first deposited on the parts P, the inner container 4 rotating. Owing to the continuous stirring afforded by the fins 16, this coating is deposited evenly.

As soon as its thickness is sufficient, the cover 5 is opened and the cover 6 is placed in position for the heating. The action of the heating resistances 8 and 20 bakes the deposited paint and then a further lacquering or paint-applying operation is carried out and so on, until the parts are covered with the desired thickness of paint. The assembly of the containers is then tilted for removing the treated parts.

The succession of the paint applying and heating times results in a considerable destruction of excess paint so that the deposits formedon the inner wall of the container 4 have an insignificant thickness and such hardness that it is possible to employ paints of several colors in succession with no inconvenience.

When it appears necessary to clean the inner container 4 subsequent to service of the apparatus the screw which normally maintains the inner container 4 in the outer container 3 is unscrewed and the inner container 4 is removed.

Thus, the invention permits effecting an irreproachable application of paint to sliders for sliding fasteners or other metal parts with the minimum of handling and labor and with great economical advantages over known apparatuses.

I claim:

1. In an apparatus for substantially automatically treating small parts and comprising a support, an enclosure carried by said support and having an opening and a container for containing said parts to be treated and which is rotatably mounted in said enclosure: the combination of a plurality of covers having identical shapes and dimensions and successively and directly adaptable on said opening of said enclosure, each cover carrying a device for carrying out a particular operation in the treatment of the parts contained in said rotary container, each device being different and said covers being adapted and arranged to be applied on said opening in succes sion whereby said devices carry out successive operations in said treatment.

2. The combination set forth in claim 1, wherein one of said devices comprises means for spraying a coat of paint into said rotary container and another of said devices comprises heating means for baking the coat of paint deposited on said parts, said rotary container comprising means for stirring said parts, and said enclosure having heating means.

3. The combination set forth in claim 2, wherein said heating means of said one of said devices include electrical heating resistance means.

4. The combination set forth in claim 2, wherein said enclosure comprises electrical heating resistance means in a lower part of said enclosure.

5. The combination set forth in claim 1, wherein said covers are two in number and pivoted on respective ones of two upright portions of said support on each side of said container and enclosure.

6. An apparatus for applying paint on a plurality of sliders for sliding fasteners, said apparatus comprising a support, an enclosure carried by said support and having an opening, a container for containing said sliders and rotatably mounted in said enclosure, two covers having identical shapes and dimensions and movably mounted on said support to be adaptable in succession on said opening of said enclosure, means combined with one of said covers for spraying a coat of paint into said container when said one cover is adapted on said opening of said enclosure, and heating means combined with the other of said covers for baking the coat of paint applied on said sliders when said other cover is adapted on said opening of said enclosure.

'7. An apparatus for spraying a coat of material on a batch of small parts, said apparatus comprising a support structure, an enclosure carried by said support structure and having an opening, a container for containing said batch of parts and mounted in said enclosure to rotate about an axis and having an opening substantially coaxial with said opening of said enclosure, said container and said enclosure defining therebetween an annular space, means for rotating said container in said enclosure, outlet duct means communicating with said annular space, a first cover pivotally mounted on said support structure and carrying means for spraying said material, a second cover pivotally mounted on said support structure and carryin heating means for radiating heat inside said container and rymg said material, said covers having such shapes and sizes and being pivotable to such positions as to be individually capable of closing said opening in said enclosure, said container being in axially spaced relation to said covers in positions of said covers for closing said opening in said enclosure whereby vapors from said material sprayed in and subsequently dried in said container can escape from said container by way of said axial spacing and said annular space and through said duct means. 

1. In an apparatus for substantially automatically treating small parts and comprising a support, an enclosure carried by said support and having an opening and a container for containing said parts to be treated and which is rotatably mounted in said enclosure: the combination of a plurality of covers having identical shapes and dimensions and successively and directly adaptable on said opening of said enclosure, each cover carrying a device for carrying out a particular operation in the treatment of the parts contained in said rotary container, each device being different and said covers being adapted and arranged to be applied on said opening in succession whereby said devices carry out successive operations in said treatment.
 2. The combination set forth in claim 1, wherein one of said devices comprises means for spraying a coat of paint into said rotary container and another of said devices comprises heating means for baking the coat of paint deposited on said parts, said rotary container comprising means for stirring said parts, and said enclosure having heating means.
 3. The combination set forth in claim 2, wherein said heating means of said one of said devices include electrical heating resistance means.
 4. The combination set forth in claim 2, wherein said enclosure comprises electrical heating resistance means in a lower part of said enclosure.
 5. The combination set forth in claim 1, wherein said covers are two in number and pivoted on respective ones of two upright portions of said support on each side of said container and enclosure.
 6. An apparatus for applying paint on a plurality of sliders for sliding fasteners, said apparatus comprising a support, an enclosure carried by said support and having an opening, a container for containing said sliders and rotatably mounted in said enclosure, two covers having identical shapes and dimensions and movably mounted on said support to be adaptable in succession on said opening of said enclosure, means combined with one of said covers for spraying a coat of paint into said container when said one cover is adapted on said opening of said enclosUre, and heating means combined with the other of said covers for baking the coat of paint applied on said sliders when said other cover is adapted on said opening of said enclosure.
 7. An apparatus for spraying a coat of material on a batch of small parts, said apparatus comprising a support structure, an enclosure carried by said support structure and having an opening, a container for containing said batch of parts and mounted in said enclosure to rotate about an axis and having an opening substantially coaxial with said opening of said enclosure, said container and said enclosure defining therebetween an annular space, means for rotating said container in said enclosure, outlet duct means communicating with said annular space, a first cover pivotally mounted on said support structure and carrying means for spraying said material, a second cover pivotally mounted on said support structure and carrying heating means for radiating heat inside said container and drying said material, said covers having such shapes and sizes and being pivotable to such positions as to be individually capable of closing said opening in said enclosure, said container being in axially spaced relation to said covers in positions of said covers for closing said opening in said enclosure whereby vapors from said material sprayed in and subsequently dried in said container can escape from said container by way of said axial spacing and said annular space and through said duct means. 